[Trident]

Her white coat stood out like a sore thumb among all the green, but it’s not like anyone would attack her. Not when she brought a bounty like this, plus Kalypso would back her up (if she knew what was good for her). The Hound pulled on the red cow’s ear, making the lead female snort and low in annoyance. The herd turned, following Big Red as she ambled lazily behind Trident. “Tch! You know better zhan to mess vith me, ya? Ya.” She chuckled good naturedly as she nipped the red cow, before loping ahead of the herd. “Come on!” She called back to the oxen, listening to their lowing complaints as she led them toward something called… Cutlass Garden? Cut’s Garden?

She wasn’t sure. Kalypso said the cows would do well here, so that’s all that mattered.

“Haw! Haw!” Trident barked at the Auroch herd, slapping her tail against their haunches. They snorted and stamped, but as Big Red simply obeyed so did they follow. The twenty heifers settled around the garden, already nosing at plants and outrightly ignoring some. “Must be bad, ya? Good. Stay here.” The Hound patted their flanks, and then set off.

She didn’t have a job, place, or friends to call her own here. That’s okay. If there’s one lesson Trident took to heart, it’s that loneliness does not beget uselessness. Work is all she needed to function, to stay sane and hearty. So the Hound made her way to the beach, and briefly wished she’d washed up here all those years ago instead of the northern coast. The cold… The bitter, biting cold that almost took her ears and tail. She’d never forget how the chill hid in her marrow, and reoccured in the mornings when she awoke. It was like a frost demon had taken root, but it could have been simple muscle memory. Terror, really, at the idea of losing her limbs and motor function.

The sand shifted beneath her paws as Trident walked along the beach. She curiously moved closer to the water, and let the waves lap at her feet. The water was warm. Her ears twitched and swiveled left. Sea birds. Very loud ones. Fighting overr… Food? Nesting rights? She didn’t know. It didn’t matter either, but- hm? She turned her head, and pointed her ears downward. A few quick steps, and the tall hellion lowered herself to the ground. Listened, and then boop! Little sea turtles fought their way from their buried nests, and struggled to get to the sea. “Ah, so zhis is vhy?” She murmured, lifting her head to watch the seagulls swarm.

They flew in long, slow circles. Screaming. Watching. Waiting. What were they-? Oh.

Idiot.

Her.

She was the only reason why these small turtles stood a chance at survival. Golden eyes glanced down, and she didn’t move. When one fell on its back? Well…

No one would notice if she used her tail to upright the little fella, would they?
And that’s how someone found her: looming over hundreds of little crawling sea turtles, with an army of screaming gulls overhead.

[Veruah]

Veruah had watched her as she brought a heard into the Cutlass' Garden. A wide, playful grin had spread across his angular face at the thought of Cider returning to her beautiful garden, full of beasts munching away at her plants. She might lose it. That sounded funny to the skinny hellion, but who knew when the Cutlass would be back? Following this new creature might prove to be far more entertaining... especially since his mushroom high had worn off.

The slender grey male gave her a decent head start before lifting himself from a quiet place between some bushes, stretching his back before trotting off to follow her. In the past he might not have done so. His long black hair hung over his right eye and the reminder that he toed the line between worlds. Not that most wolves knew that. He looked like a hellion, so why would they? Only the tribe he had been born into and a few Tortugans knew he was a half breed. It was a fact that had haunted him since birth. A fact that had caused him his beautiful, golden right eye, and the comfort of his mother. But those things had all but disappeared from his life now. He was a pirate, leaving behind such terms like demon and half demon... they didn't exist here.

Veruah approached with a light trot, tossing his head much like a pony, causing his trinkets to clatter around his remaining horn. Black hair billowed in the ocean air and sea birds scattered at the sight of him, choosing to swarm the hellion lady and the little turtles she was attempting to assist. "'Ello." Veruah tilted his head, pale blue eye shifting from the baby turtles to the hellion who had just flipped one over. But why? "You... save turtles?"

[Trident]

Buried, the baby turtles fought for life the moment they latched. Little flippers acting as shovels, pulling themselves from their graves as they sought their first breath of air. Breaching the sand, the children of the sea wasted no time. They shot forward, small missiles of hope to continue the species. Trident reflected on that. She pondered if survivors of her species clawed their way through the ash and ruin, to find greener pastures. Start anew. Scrap the old ways, or continue? She knew not. It wasn’t her place to think that way, either. It’d fall to the Pikes.

She was no leader. Not in that fashion.

"'Ello. You... save turtles?"

She’d heard his approach, but considering he hadn’t done much to hide it? She could only assume this was a Tortugan. She bid the ocean silent farewell as she turned her body to face the inquisitor, only to stop. She openly stared, scrutinizing the individual before her with such an intensity one might think he was under a microscope. Then her eyes narrowed, and her upper lip curled into a sneer. Those long ears flicked back. She showed every sign of her distaste as her tail whipped behind her. The blade kicked up sand as the turtles continued their mad dash for freedom, little fins propelling them as fast as they could go.

Above, the seagulls screamed.

“Vhatchu vant?” Trident growled. She had no patience for stupid questions, or the breed the Straits called “hell hounds.” Disease riddled walking plagues. Cullings existed for a reason: whether from birth or trials, they served a purpose. She remembered the quiet girl from her childhood. She was beautiful and soft, and the loque'ka ate her. Swallowed the girl whole, her scream echoing as she slipped down the monster’s gullet to die within its stomach. There was no saving her, but their line improved. Her weakness ended with her life, and the breed flourished with strength and prosperity.

The seagulls reminded her of the girl. Their shrill calls echoed eerily over the ocean waves.

It irritated her. Her tail lashed again.

[Veruah]

She didn't like him. Veruah grinned wide at her obvious distaste at the mere sight of him. When he was a pup that same look terrified him. It cost him half his right horn and his right eye. It cost him his siblings, who appeared as wolves with minor hellion traits. Later it cost him his mother when he was exciled. A part of him would always remember the harshly spat word "half demon". He was a mutt to his people, a useless half hellion, a lesser to his clan. But not any more. Veruah didn't give a shit anymore about what others thought of him and when some looked down their noses at him, he only smiled. It gave him a warm tingly feeling inside to know that is very existance annoyed others.

"Veruah wants nothing." He shrugged and laid down in the sand where he stood, tucking his paws under his chest, relishing the warmth of the sand on his belly. Overall it was a lovely day and now he'd found a source of entertainment. If only he had a meal... But he didn't want to get up and hunt for it. "Why you save turtle?" He asked, his thick accent rolling from his tongue and onto the sea breeze. Cider had been teaching him their language but his speach still wasn't as clear as it could have been... not that it mattered. This female before him had a thick accent herself. "They die anyway." He shrugged.

[Cider]

Cider,

Now I feel my heart beating
I feel my heart underneath my skin
And I feel my heart beating
Oh, you make me feel
Like I'm alive again

actions - “speech” - thoughts

She was trotting back to her Garden when.... A strange smell hit her. What...? She picked up to a lope and then she saw them....

In.

Her.

Garden.

A scream of terror tore from her jaws followed by a, “WHAT THE FUCK!!!!?” Lord only knew who all could have heard her scream. “OUT!!! OUT OUT OUT!!!” She shouted, trying to drive the beasts from her beloved Garden. Cider let out a growl and stormed off, needing to find the owner of these animals. Get them out of her Garden! These plants were not for beasts to chew on! They were for Tortuga.

Cider followed scents, mostly Veruah's and a stranger with a lingering smell of beasties. She'd calmed down some by the time the screeching seagulls reached her. Cider moved over to Veruah and watched, taking a seat next to him. “What is she doing....?” She questioned curiously. Seeing the stranger being screeched at made things a bit better.

“Veruah.... Do you have any idea what those animals are in my Garden......?”

She would idly question, looking to Veruah and then to the stranger. Yeah, that little tick of anger was starting to come back. What was this odd hound doing trying to help the baby turtles anywho? Cider soon settled down next to Veruah in the sand, leaning against him, she seemed to calm down with him so close but, yeah.... Odd beasts in her Garden and now a Turtle Hero.

ooc

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